LES NOUVEAUX CINEMAS

LES NOUVEAUX CINEMAS

The Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media (FCMM) is made possible by the generous collaboration of the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science and Technology. For more information on the Festival, visit www.fcmm.com

The Film and Video Series at REDCAT is funded by Wendy Keys and Donald A. Pels.

This five day selection of new films and videos is culled from and inspired by the 2003 edition of the Festival international nouveau Cinéma nouveaux Médias Montréal (FCMM), a most adventurous international film festival. Together with Montréal Ex-Centris Foundation, the FCMM has been a pioneer in the presentation of new interactive media work, experimental cinema and auteur films from around the world.

A highlight of LES NOUVEAUX CINEMAS is a section of new documentary works from Iran – some shot digitally, vérité-style, some a mixture of documentary and fiction. While guest-curating the “Iranian Insights” section at the latest FCMM, Shohreh Shashani and Caroline Masse discovered that the “advent of affordable digital technology has resulted in a filmmaking boom, especially in the documentary field,” as many filmmakers were able to work independently and bypass state censorship. Benefiting from their generous collaboration and insight, this special focus on “New Documents from Iran” will upset and renew many preconceived ideas about Iranian society, politics, and the role played by women. This section will conclude with a documentary by one of Iran’s best-known female directors, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad.

LES NOUVEAUX CINEMAS also pays homage to the FCMM’s perspective on the world: the Audience Award was received by a young female Moroccan director, Narjiss Nejjar for her first feature that cast unflinching gaze on the issue of sexual politics. Finally, Luc Bourdon, FCMM Executive Director (2000-2003), was instrumental in organizing the screenings of innovative and experimental work from Canada (Mike Hoolboom, Edward Lock), and introducing Los Angeles audiences to the witty, troubling animation films of Mich&eagrave;le Cournoyer.

"In the village of Khosro, a small group of traditional brick makers produce 8 mm movies in a simple, yet innovative way. Over a period of ten years, the director, Mr. Matini, wrote 110 books and made 18 movies without permission from the government. Then, in 1993, he was arrested. He was released a few months later under the condition that he never make another movie. The villagers were forced to sign documents saying that they would not associate with the filmmakers. Yet, the group took the risk of making one more film so that we could make our film while they were shooting theirs." (M. Mansouri)

The mise-en-abime of the filmmaking process permeates Trial. Jailed from 1981 to 1983 for his political views, director Moslem Mansouri produced eight underground documentaries before seeking political asylum in the US in 1999. Hossein Sabzian, whose obsession for film had prompted him to impersonate Mohsen Makhmalbaf – an odyssey recreated by Abbas Kiarostami in Close-Up – is the main actor in Matini’s film.

After the fall of the Taliban regime, Iranian filmmaker Yassamin Maleknasr traveled to Afghanistan to witness the hope and dignity of its people, their culture and history, rather than the war and its horror. As she journeyed from Mashad to Herat, from south to north, her status as a female filmmaker allowed her to approach men, children and particularly women as no ordinary traveler could. She was able to capture the real life of these women hidden under their burqas. Since her first film in 1995 (The Common Plight) Maleknasr has directed many documentaries. (FCMM)

Moslem Mansouri and Yassamin Maleknasr will be present, schedule permitting

REDCAT NEWS

The New Original Works Festival (NOW) is a three-week interdisciplinary program offering a variety of short works and some longer projects in their Los Angeles premieres. The Festival takes place in July and August and artists are given development support through rehearsal space, technical assistance, access to equipment and an honorarium. Projects are selected through a proposal process, with an emphasis on new projects in development and/or early career artists.